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Liquid crystals are the smart materials which are used in displays, modulators, sensors, solar cells, and many other devices we deal with in our daily lives: at our house, on the street, and at our job. LCDs are now an industry that generates over ten billion dollars per year. Liquid crystals are applied in biology and medicine, and for oil recovery as well as in food production. The molecules of the human body (e.g., DNA, proteins) can also form liquid crystal phases. Many applications of liquid crystals require the manipulation of structures on the nanometer scale. For example, these highly sensitive materials are capable of changing their structure on the nanoscale level for detection of small fractions of harmful impurities. Many challenges could be potentially solved with help of liquid crystals, such as the creation of artificial muscles and global energy reduction. The investigation of liquid crystals makes an important contribution to the development of new scientific methods and approaches in mathematics, computer science, molecular-statistical physics, thermodynamics, electrodynamics, etc. The methods derived in the framework for the research of liquid crystals could be applied in different areas, and therefore, liquid crystal research is intended to stimulate progress in science in general.
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